I totally agree with charlie brown. A .270 with 140 gr. Failsafes is fine for black bear. Something that is easy to shoot and put the bullet exactly where you want outranks anything else. That is why my wife uses her 7mm-08 with 140 gr. Failsafe bullets and does just fine. Especially in newer hunters, heavy recoil leads to poor shooting (and flinching), which brings wounded bears. A good hit in the heart/lungs means a dead bear. A miss or partial hit in any caliber is trouble.